An Introduction To Database Diagrams
A database diagram clearly details the structure, relationships, and data rules in a database. It makes storing, retrieving and manipulating your data much simpler by ensuring your data’s consistency and organisation. This image belows shows a very sim …
When INCLUDE Columns Quietly Inflate Your Transaction Logs
Introduction As DBAs, we often think of INCLUDE columns as a harmless way to cover queries.They aren’t part of the index key, so it’s easy to assume that adding them wouldn’t have much impact. This thinking is dangerously incomplete. While INCLUDE colu …
Automating SQL Server Access Review
Tracking and reviewing user access in a SQL Server is an important tasks for any DBA. Unauthorized access or suspicious activity can comprise sensitive data, leading to business disruption, data breaches, or financial losses. In this article, we will l …
Incrementally Loading Data into Parquet with Python
Parquet is a column-oriented open-source storage format increasingly used for “big data” analytics. Yet despite its growing popularity as a native format for data lakes and data warehouses, tools for maintaining these environments remain scarce. Gettin …
Getting In: Running External Code in a Locked-Down PaaS
In Part 1, I explored how to bend SQL Server Agent to our will and peek under the hood of Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI), gaining full OS access to the container (all without relying on xp_cmdshell). But once I realized what kind of door I’d opene …
How to Script Dimensions with data build tool (dbt) Macros
In previous articles we introduced the popular data engineering tool dbt (data build tool). We showed you how you can transform data in a Microsoft Fabric warehouse and how you can create tables with dbt models. We also demonstrated how you can use mac …
SQL ConstantCare® Population Report: Summer 2025
In this quarter’s update of our SQL ConstantCare® population report, showing how quickly (or slowly) folks adopt new versions of SQL Server, the data is very similar to last quarter. SQL Server 2019 still rules the market: SQL Server 2022: 24%, up from …
Dimensional Modeling Case Study, Part 4 – Dynamic Time Duration Dimension
Background In the first parts of this series (part 1, part 2, part 3), we explored dimension tables for age groups, calendar days, and dynamic banding at the day level. These covered time aspects that align with calendar structures—birthdates, admissio …
Updated First Responder Kit and Consultant Toolkit for July 2025: Independence Release
I’mma wax philosophical for a second: I love the open source nature of the First Responder Kit because it lets anybody, anywhere, diagnose database problems faster. If you’re a full time employee somewhere today, you owe it to yourself to use the FRK s …
SQL Server 2022 Clusterless Distributed Availability Group
One customer had a very specific scenario: They had an Always On Availability Group with Windows Server Failover Cluster Each node had its own storage, so the witness was not disk-based but network-based One node was in the cloud and the other was a ph …
Revolutionizing Efficiency: The Power of Custom Automation Software Development
With the ever-increasing pace of the digital era, companies are continuously looking for opportunities to enhance efficiency, cut costs, and optimize operations. The most viable way to accomplish these is through Custom Automation Software Development. …
SQL Server and AI: Integrating Machine Learning Services
Have you ever wished you could run your data science experiments right where your data lives, without the hassle of moving huge files around? That’s exactly what Microsoft set out to solve with SQL Server Machine Learning Services (MLS). Starting with …
[Video] Office Hours: Finally Back in the Home Office
I’m finally back in the home office after running around Europe for a month. Let’s talk through your top-voted questions from https://pollgab.com/room/brento. Here’s what we covered: 00:00 Start 01:52 World Peace: Hey Brent, I am working in AZURE curre …
PostgreSQL Aggregate Functions
Overview In this article we will go through the various in built aggregate functions available in PostgreSQL. Aggregate functions perform a calculation on a set of rows and return a single value. COUNT Function The COUNT function is a simple and very u …
Zero-Trust Architecture for Cloud-Based AI Systems
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